WRHW608 New Guy

[Maddog0477]

Just checking in and saying hello. Still in process of setting up my radio via chirp. Not having much luck connecting to Midwest hub repeater, and not hearing much chatter. Looking forward to learning more as I go. What confuses me most is having 2 freqs on my display, I assume this is In/Out frequencies? Whiteside County in Illinois. WRHW608

[WRAK968]

Sounds like you have a duel watch feature on the radio you are using. You'll be able to hear both frequencies at once, but will only transmit on one of them. Some radios allow you to disable this via programing.

[wayoverthere]

As wrak mentioned, it sounds like a dual watch feature, though it might help to know what model of radio you're using. Most baofeng handhelds will do two frequencies, with an ab button that switches between the two;Dual watch lets it switch automatically, or you can change manually.

 

The gmrs 50x1 lets me watch up to 4 (I generally have a and b sync'd, showing name and freq, with c and d as the vhf calling and the local public safety)

 

Not sure what distance you are from the repeater, between what's on the map for that repeater and the location you gave looks like a bit of a reach, but I don't know how accurate the location is or what range is like on the plains, I'm mostly between valley and foothills over here. I do see a couple in Rockford and Aledo that seem like they'd be closer in

[Maddog0477]

Thx for the info! the Radio Im using is a BF-F8HP, so I'll try to look up those repeaters you mentioned and see whats up.

[wayoverthere]

Thx for the info! the Radio Im using is a BF-F8HP, so I'll try to look up those repeaters you mentioned and see whats up.

 

i have one of those as well, Miklor has a good manual for the BF-F8HP (here)

 

The two frequencies are definitely a&b, and can be dual watch if you want it to; it's only displaying the receive frequency for both, and the up/down arrow will indicate which of the two is active (page 25 in the link). Chapter 6 (page 44) talks more about the dual watch.

 

If you have memory channels saved, it defaults to transmitting on the same frequency (simplex), though you can program a different transmit frequency for repeater usage (page 58).

 

Finally, i'll be the one to say it (if i don't, someone else will)...As the manual mentions (page 68), the BF-F8HP is neither part 95 or part 90 certified (UV82C is the only one i've seen with part 90 certification), so it's not technically legal for GMRS use. 

 

Besides the UV82C, there's the GMRS V1 that is part 95 certified, and some options from other manufacturers, though i think the uv82C/gmrs v1 is the least expensive option with a display...the mygmrs shop has a repeater capable 5 watt retevis for $38.99, but no lcd display on that one.